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l33tminion) wrote2024-03-25 06:15 pm
l33tminion) wrote2024-03-25 06:15 pm
An Interval Later, Some Media Talk
Had an interval of solo parenting while Julie was on her trip (she returns tomorrow). It's been going pretty smoothly. Erica and I played a few games of Forbidden Desert, which was fun, I need to dig a bit more into our collection of co-op games. On Saturday, Erica had her first art lesson at the MFA, and we went to the Science Museum in the afternoon. On Sunday, we went climbing, I met up with an Ingress teammate to say hello and swap some in-game gear, then I took Erica to the aquarium. This afternoon, Erica is over at a friend's house, so I have a moment to myself.
I've been watching a few anime shows recently, too, which I want to talk about a bit, so let's talk media!
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End - If you are at all a fan of the fantasy genre, watch this one. The brief synopsis: A long-lived elven mage was one of the party of heroes who defeated the demon king some decades prior. Their journey together took ten years, but was still one of the most significant intervals in her millennia-long life. They parted ways, and then a short (from her perspective) time later, her comrades are old or gone. She finds herself filled with regret that she let the moment pass so lightly. She ends up on a journey retracing her steps, with new proteges who were themselves students of her former comrades. Beyond that synopsis, it's hard to describe what in particular is good about this show because everything about it is so great. That said, it's hard to think of other examples where the narrative pacing is the best aspect of a work of fiction, and that's arguably the case here. This show can use narrative techniques that often destroy pacing without skipping a beat, and it's capable of putting more brilliance into a 14-second recap flashback than some shows put into entire episodes.
Re:CREATORS - This show is soon disappearing off of Prime Video into the graveyard of lost media due to Amazon's disaster of an anime streaming venture. I took the time to watch it at the recommendation of some anime enthusiasts I follow who really liked it. But it struck me as just an okay random-characters-random-powers science-fantasy venture, with a somewhat interesting concept. The power system isn't fleshed out enough or consistent enough to make the mystery of characters trying to suss out one another's weaknesses that interesting. On the other hand, it is a rare opportunity to indulge in the perhaps-under-served power fantasy of "for the sake of the world, we need to give your particular creative venture unlimited budget". Worth watching if you really like that sort of thing, though I don't know how you'll be able to get it without resorting to piracy.
I've been watching a few anime shows recently, too, which I want to talk about a bit, so let's talk media!
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End - If you are at all a fan of the fantasy genre, watch this one. The brief synopsis: A long-lived elven mage was one of the party of heroes who defeated the demon king some decades prior. Their journey together took ten years, but was still one of the most significant intervals in her millennia-long life. They parted ways, and then a short (from her perspective) time later, her comrades are old or gone. She finds herself filled with regret that she let the moment pass so lightly. She ends up on a journey retracing her steps, with new proteges who were themselves students of her former comrades. Beyond that synopsis, it's hard to describe what in particular is good about this show because everything about it is so great. That said, it's hard to think of other examples where the narrative pacing is the best aspect of a work of fiction, and that's arguably the case here. This show can use narrative techniques that often destroy pacing without skipping a beat, and it's capable of putting more brilliance into a 14-second recap flashback than some shows put into entire episodes.
Re:CREATORS - This show is soon disappearing off of Prime Video into the graveyard of lost media due to Amazon's disaster of an anime streaming venture. I took the time to watch it at the recommendation of some anime enthusiasts I follow who really liked it. But it struck me as just an okay random-characters-random-powers science-fantasy venture, with a somewhat interesting concept. The power system isn't fleshed out enough or consistent enough to make the mystery of characters trying to suss out one another's weaknesses that interesting. On the other hand, it is a rare opportunity to indulge in the perhaps-under-served power fantasy of "for the sake of the world, we need to give your particular creative venture unlimited budget". Worth watching if you really like that sort of thing, though I don't know how you'll be able to get it without resorting to piracy.